A livestock export licence has been granted to a Perth subsidiary of Kuwait Livestock Transport and Trading, allowing the second shipment to the Middle East following the Emanuel sheep scandal.
Rural Export and Trading WA general manager Mike Gordon said the Al Shuwaikh and the Al Messilah would be stocked at least 17.5 per cent below the rate set by the federal government.
"The two-to-three week procurement and pre-export process will now commence, with approximately 130,000 sheep to be sourced from WA producers and prepared for export from Fremantle to the Arabian Gulf," Mr Gordon said on Thursday.
RETWA will supply to markets including Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
It comes after the Maysora, which is operated by Livestock Shipping Services, completed a voyage to Israel and Jordan last week, discharging 20,000 sheep and 8000 cattle.
Footage of the deaths of about 2400 sheep in extreme heat onboard the Emanuel Exports-chartered Awassi Express broadcast in April sparked a furore that halted Australian shipments to the Middle East and sparked regulatory changes, including stocking density.
WAFarmers president Tony York said RETWA's shipment should inject confidence into the industry.
"KLTT is one of Australia's biggest sheep buyers, importing 1.28 million sheep in 2017," he said.
"Now RETWA's export licence has been granted, the live sheep trade can kick into full swing."
But Animals Australia spokeswoman Lyn White said RETWA had been behind other high mortality voyages in the past.
"To replace one company suspended for high mortality heat stress shipments with another with a similar rap sheet, is recycling at its worst," she said.
